Limited Tort Horror Stories

The following stories provide a glimpse into the difficulties you may encounter if you are ever injured in an accident and have chosen the Limited Tort option on your Pennsylvania auto insurance policy.

Single mother is unable to collect for pain and suffering for her injuries

A woman who was involved in a car accident called our law office recently. She was very upset that she couldn't get money for the injuries she had received in her accident. She had a bad injury and was in real pain. Unfortunately, she had chosen Limited Tort on her insurance polic and her injury was not "serious" enough to allow her to collect for pain and suffering.

She cried all the way through her conversation. She kept saying that she was a single mother who had to work, but she was unable to work right now because of her injury. She was afraid of losing her job. Unfortunately, under Pennsylvania law, there was absolutely nothing we could do to help her.

When "saving" money on a car insurance premium ends up costing money

We had a man call our law firm who said that he was a cousin of a judge, and also had several lawyers and doctors in his family. He had selected limited tort on his auto insurance policy and was now very angry because he couldn't collect money for pain and suffering caused by injuries he received in an auto accident. He wanted our law firm to take his case and use it as a test case to overcome the tort option.

He believed that it shouldn't matter what his tort option was since the at-fault driver had full tort. He believed that her insurance should cover his medical costs. [In Pennsylvania, your car insurance policy pays for your medical bills]. He went on and on about how the law is unfair and how it hurts the little people. We asked him why, if he had all of these judges, doctors and lawyers in his family, would he have chosen limited tort? He said "because it's supposed to save you money." Unfortunately, "savings" like this end up costing you a lot more if you are hurt in an accident.

What can happen when limited tort isn't explained to a policyholder:

A man contacted our law firm about an injury he had sustained in a car accident. He said that he had limited tort on his car insurance, but that it was never properly explained to him. His insurance agent had told him he would still be able to sue for pain and suffering for a "serious" injury; however he was never told how strict the Limited Tort Exceptions are or how serious the injury would have to be to collect for pain and suffering under limited tort.

A representative from our law firm explained to him that he would have to have a "serious" injury, or meet one of the other exceptions to get him around limited tort. All he had heard when the insurance agent told him about limited tort was that he would be saving a lot of money on his premium.

As this caller discovered, any savings can be quickly out-weighed by the suffering caused by an injury. In many cases, you can't get any compensation for your injury under limited tort. You could even be off of work for 3 or 4 months with an injury and still not overcome the limited tort issue. This caller decided to call his insurance agent and change his tort option immediately.

A 9 year-old accident victim has no way to collect for his injuries:

A woman called about an auto accident involving her 9 year-old son. The woman was not injured in the accident, but her son was. The accident had happened two months prior to our conversation with her. Although no definitive injury was found, her son was still wearing a soft collar and was sore all over - especially his back. He was treating with his family doctor who had him on some medication.

When we asked her about her type of auto insurance, she said she had limited tort. You could tell that she had talked to several attorneys about her situation by some of the language she used. Everyone she had called told her she would not be able to recover money for her son's injuries because of the limited tort option on her Pennsylvania auto insurance policy.

She argued that her son couldn't even drive, so why did he have to suffer? Unfortunately, he is still bound by her choice of limited tort. Under law, her son is considered to be a "resident relative" which means that anyone who is a blood relative, legally adopted, or a named insured on the policy who lives in the same household is covered by the chosen tort option.

When you are choosing your insurance option, please keep in mind that you could be choosing not only for yourself, but for your entire family.

An injured foreigner is determined to be a "resident relative"

A young man, originally from a foreign country, called our law firm and said that he had been involved in an auto accident in the United States. At the time of the accident, he had been in the United States for two years and had been living with his sister and brother-in-law. He did not drive and was not named as an insured on their Pennsylvania auto insurance policy with limited tort.

We explained that he would also be covered by limited tort because he was a resident relative. After hearing this, he said he should go back to his country. Where he is from, living with someone doesn't make them responsible for you. We had the hardest time convincing him that this was the law in Pennsylvania and that he also was bound by his sister's policy that included limited tort. It is very hard explaining this to someone who is a native of Pennsylvania, but it is even more difficult to explain it to a foreign person who is not even aware of the tort option in Pennsylvania.

Luckily for him, it was determined that his injury was considered to be a "serious injury" under limited tort. He was then able to get over the restrictions of this option and collect money for his pain and suffering.

Injured in a car accident? Put our experience to work for you.

For over 25 years, our attorneys have represented more than 30,000 people who have been injured in all types of accidents including car accidents. In addition our legal team has answered over 350,000 injury-related legal questions. When an injury from a car accident occurs and legal help is needed, experience counts.

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If you, or someone you care about, have been injured in a car accident, you can contact our law firm for a free evaluation by:

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